


Day 19: An Orphan at the Door

by GemmaRose



Series: Lost Light Fest 2018 [19]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: Gen, Post-Transformers: Holiday Special (IDW), Surprise Parenthood, Transformer Sparklings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-08-14 06:33:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16487597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemmaRose/pseuds/GemmaRose
Summary: Whirl didn't really expect to wake up after getting into his B.E.D. for the trip through Mauler Space. Hedefinitelydidn't expect to come back online with a sparkling nestled in the back of his cockpit.





	Day 19: An Orphan at the Door

Whirl onlined slowly, his processor dully registering surprise, though he wasn’t sure why. Because he was on a medi-berth? No, he’d come to in the medical bay too many times for that to be a surprise. Maybe it was because there was a weight on his chassis and a field tangled up in his own, he didn’t usually have visitors. Not that he would’ve wanted them if he had them, of course. His processor finally finished warming up, and his optic came online cycled as wide as it’d go.

He was awake. He’d woken up. He hadn’t _died_. He sat bolt upright on the berth, and realised another thing. The weight on his chassis wasn’t on top of his frame, it was _inside_ , specifically in his cockpit, tucking itself up against the back, pressed to the metal over his spark. He looked down, and his vocaliser choked on the cooing proto-glyph that wanted to come out. It was the sparkling, the side of her helm pressed as close to his spark as she could get.

“Oh, you’re awake!” Velocity chirped, almost offensively upbeat for what his internal chronometer told him was an obscenely early cycle. “How’s little Sparky doing?”

Whirl pressed the flat of a claw against the glass of his cockpit, which Velocity must have reinstalled while he was offline, drawing his field close even as it prickled with emotions he didn’t care to examine.

“I'm sorry, Whirl.” Nautica offered from the other side of the berth, field reaching out to brush apologetic against his for the briefest of nano-kliks. “ After I came out of hibernation I went to Velocity and confessed everything. I'm not a natural-born lawbreaker.”

“When she mentioned the knock on Swerve’s door we looked at the CCTV footage. I’ve been over it three times now and I still don’t know where the sparkling or the noise came from.”

“And I can't work out how we managed to hide from the Maulers when you were sharing a pod with the sparkling. One pod, two sparks...” Nautica frowned, circling around the berth to stand by Velocity.

“One.” he corrected her. “I shut myself down, deprived my spark of energy.” the admission was somehow both easier and harder than he’d expected it to be, probably because he hadn’t expected to have to make it.

“Soft termination.” Velocity nodded. “You're lucky we found you in time.”

“Sure, lucky.” he looked down at his cockpit, shifting his claw to see the sparkling better.

“It really is.” Nautica said firmly. “If you’d died, we wouldn’t’ve just lost a friend.”

“Oh?” Whirl tilted his head slightly, optic fixed on Nautica. He hadn’t realised she considered him a friend, but it was easier to focus on the other half. What would be so bad about his death?

The Camiens looked at each other, then Velocity sighed and stepped closer to the berth. “It’s easier to show you than try explaining.” she reached out and tapped on the glass of his cockpit. Inside, the sparkling stirred, field rippling uneasily. “Give her to me.”

Whirl opened his cockpit and lifted the sparkling out. Her field calmed as that big yellow optic stared up at him, and he ran his claw gently down the length of her soft, warm frame. She wriggled happily, claws clicking and field bright with the pure sort of happiness that only ever lasted until sparklings learnt how cruel the world really was. He stroked her a few more times to calm her down, and only when Velocity reset her vocaliser did he remember he’d been meant to hand over the sparkling, not just soothe her.

The second she was in Velocity’s arms though, she started squirming again, letting out little whimpers that tugged at Whirl’s spark. Velocity took a few steps back, and the sparkling began to move erratically, volume increasing to a whine. Whirl swung his legs over the side of the berth, optic flicking from the clearly struggling sparkling to the grimace on Velocity’s face. Tiny claws began to pinch at Velocity’s armour as she took another step back, and another, and at ten steps away the sparkling _screeched_.

Whirl was on his pedes and halfway to Velocity before he knew what he was doing, field unfurling in an instinctive reach for the tiny, helpless little femme who was radiating Distress so strong it hurt. He scooped her out of Velocity’s arms, the proto-glyph of Comfort slipping easily from his vocaliser, simple and soft, and the distress vanished from the sparkling’s field in nano-kliks.

“Wha- how did you do that?” Nautica demanded. “Earlier it took _kliks_ for her to stop fussing, and that was after we put her in your cockpit!”

The sparkling’s vocaliser let out a burst of static as she tried to form a glyph too complicated for her fresh little frame, and Whirl repeated Comfort as he stroked a claw down the length of her frame. “Well were you comforting her?” he asked, and the femmes’ faces were answer enough. He huffed air out of his vents noisily, and took a step back from the Camiens.

“We should tell the captains.” Nautica said after a moment. “Magnus too, probably.”

“I’ll comm them.” Velocity agreed, optics focusing on her HUD. Whirl looked back at the sparkling in his arms, and on impulse popped his cockpit open to place her back inside. Her field immediately flared with joy, and as he shut the glass again she wriggled her back to the back, curling up as near to his spark as she could get. Whirl took a seat on the edge of the medi-berth, and if he’d had a face he was sure he would’ve been smiling.

\---

It wasn’t ten kliks later that Ultra Magnus, both co-captains, and First Aid were assembled in the med-bay. Surprisingly, First Aid looked the least pleased, though Whirl supposed that had something to do with the quiet dressing-down he’d given Velocity over in the corner when he arrived.

“So, Lotty said you guys found a sparkling?” Rodimus asked, optics bright.

Whirl nodded. Nautica elbowed him in the side. “Take her out and show them.” she hissed. He rolled his optic, but popped open his cockpit and reached in.

“She only just got to recharge.” he grumbled quietly as the sparkling stirred, beeping softly as she came online. Rodimus made half a glyph before he cut himself off, stepping in closer to look at the sparkling. She stared back at him, going very still as fear threaded her field, and Whirl tucked her against his frame to calm her back down.

“She’s so small.” Rodimus vented, optics wide and expression something open and vulnerable that Whirl couldn’t put a name to as he reached out to run a hand down her frame. It only lasted a nano-klik, though, and then he ex-vented heavily as he straightened up and turned to Ultra Magnus. “Mags, which of the colonies is the least out of our way?”

“Excuse me?” Magnus frowned.

“Cybertron’s got that whole council of worlds thing going now, right?” Rodimus shifted his height to one leg, crossing his arms. “So if even one of those colony worlds has an active creche, we detour to the _nearest_ one and they can spacebridge her over there. No need for us to make this side trip any longer than it has to be.”

“Well, that would be Velocitron but-”

“But why does she need to go in a creche?” Whirl asked sharply, tucking the sparkling up under his cockpit as his plating flared out in agitation.

“The Lost Light is hardly safe for grown mechs, let alone a sparkling.” Megatron said, his voice flat.

“Agreed.” Magnus nodded.

“Whirl, we’re setting course for Velocitron.” Rodimus said, turning back to him. “Give me the sparkling, or I’ll tell Aid to sedate you while we find her a caretaker for the trip.”

A protest rose in Whirl’s vocaliser, but he cut it off and furled his field tight against his frame. “I’ll get to say goodbye at least, before we drop her off?”

“Of course.” Rodimus smiled, soft and sympathetic and Whirl wanted to punch him in his stupid face but refrained. If he punched the captain now he’d never get her back.

“Here.” he held out the sparkling, and Rodimus took her with all due care, supporting her head in the crook of his elbow and running his hand down her frame as he murmured soft proto-glyphs to her.

“It’s okay.” he said, resting the sparkling against his chassis and turning to walk back to where Magnus and Megatron were standing. From the edge of his optic Whirl could see Nautica and Velocity stiffen, hands coming up to cover their audials. “It’s okay, bitty, you’re-”

He got all of three steps away before the sparkling screeched, louder than last time, and with the knowledge it was coming Whirl’s frame moved deliberately instead of instinctively. Rodimus had frozen at the high pitched sound, Megatron and Magnus and Aid were covering their audials and cringing away from the noise, and nobody stopped him as he strode around Rodimus to pluck the sparkling from his arms. She let out a garbled mess of a proto-glyph as her field met his, her tiny vocaliser not yet developed enough to layer glyphs for deeper meanings, and he hushed her as he tucked her up under his cockpit again, one claw idly stroking down her side.

“What the _Pit_ was that?” First Aid asked from the computer terminal he’d been working at, rubbing one of his audials.

“That- I mean, she _did_ imprint on Whirl when we found her.” Nautica spluttered. Rodimus frowned.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve warned you that would happen.” Velocity grimaced. “The sparkling... disagrees with the idea of being separated from Whirl.”

“Disagrees _loudly_.” Megatron scowled.

“Aid, how fast can you run a CNA test?” Rodimus asked, and Whirl cycled his optic at the abrupt change in topic.

“It takes a few cycles, why?”

“I want you to test this sparkling’s CNA against Whirl’s.”

This time Whirl cycled his audials. “What?”

“Just trust me, okay?” Rodimus grinned, confident as ever. “Aid, run the tests.”

“Alright.” First aid frowned, and went off to get the materials he’d need.

“You want him to look for similarities.” Velocity said, and Rodimus made finger guns at her.

“Bingo.”

“That’s... surprisingly sensible.” Magnus nodded, bringing a hand up to cup his chin.

“What would similarities mean?” Megatron frowned harder. Whirl nearly sniggered at the frustration on his face.

“It would mean the sparkling is of the same House as Whirl. Or, it would if he was a noblemech.” Magnus explained. Megatron still looked confused.

“So, you know how all cybertronians have similar CNA, to an extent?” Velocity asked, the question evidently rhetorical because she didn’t wait for an answer before continuing. “Spark siblings tend to share an incredibly high percentage of their code. If two mechs are far above the average amount of shared CNA but not spark siblings, then they’re considered to be of a House.”

“Ah.” Megatron nodded. “And what has this to do with the sparkling situation?”

“Simple.” Rodimus beamed, crossing his arms again. “If they’re not of a House, it means she’s just a little scrambled from going in a stasis pod so young and we’ll be able to give her to a creche by the time we get to Velocitron. If they _are_ of a House, then only Whirl will be able to keep her from deafening all of us.”

“You’re not suggesting we let _Whirl_ have a sparkling.” Megatron gestured at him. Whirl made the rudest gesture he could manage without fingers.

“I don’t agree with it either, but Rodimus has a point.” Magnus added. “If nobody else can keep her from screaming...”

Whirl drew her away from his frame to look down at the sparkling in his arms, and she chirped a happy little proto-glyph as she clicked her claws up at him, waving her stubby arms. “You’re a clever little bitlet, aren’t you?” he cooed, lifting her up to set atop the front end of his cockpit. She had no proper mouth, but her field radiated joy and satisfaction. “Thought so.” he patted her gently on the head, and opened the glass up to let her in. She let out a happy little sound that wasn’t even a proper proto-glyph, and rolled right on in, wiggling up against the back.

Barely two cycles old and she already knew how to get her way. She was going to be a real clawful when she was fully formed, that was for sure.

**Author's Note:**

> This sparkling is, in fact, Junior.


End file.
